Joint Efforts to Accelerate CDSA Open Specification Adoption

Strategic Insights -

IBM and Intel have joined forces to promote broad industry adoption of Internet security features that work across multiple computing platforms, specifically the Common Data Security Architecture (CDSA) specification. This collaboration aims to address the current lack of interoperability among security solutions, which is hindering companies from securely conducting electronic business. By promoting CDSA, the two companies seek to enable developers to create secure, interoperable applications and solutions.

Key Takeaways:

  • IBM and Intel will jointly promote the adoption of the CDSA specification, which enables developers to create interoperable, CDSA-based applications and solutions.
  • The two companies will conduct joint activities to educate the information technology community on using CDSA in their environments, including multi-vendor seminars, interoperability forums, technology development workshops, demonstrations, and publication of technical documentation.
  • IBM plans to ship KeyWorks, the first CDSA-based product in the market, in various operating systems, including AIX, OS/400, OS/390, and its IBM Vault Registry certificate management software and the IBM eNetwork Firewall for AIX and NT products.
  • Intel plans to make selected IBM KeyWorks technologies available with its CDSA reference implementation, increasing the interoperability of the specification.
  • Pat Gelsinger, Vice President and General Manager of the Desktop Platforms Group, Intel, stated, "A strong security infrastructure is critical to continue rapid growth of the Internet."
  • Al Zollar, General Manager, Network Computing Software Division, IBM, said, "By promoting a standards-based, interoperable, cross-platform approach, and by adopting this standard in our own products, IBM and Intel are making it easier and more cost-effective for customers to adopt encryption and conduct business on the Web more securely."
  • CDSA, originated by Intel, is an industry-accepted specification for the development of security-enabled applications that are interoperable and offer cross-platform support.
  • CDSA allows flexible and configurable use of cryptography, certificate management, trust policy management, key and certificate lookup, storage and retrieval, and optional key recovery.

Statistics:

  • IBM plans to ship KeyWorks, the first CDSA-based product in the market.
  • CDSA-based solutions enable developers to quickly and easily create advanced security-enabled applications for customers.
  • CDSA is becoming an increasingly important element for e-business security solutions.
  • CDSA enables Internet-based public key security infrastructures to interoperate via the IETF's Public Key Infrastructure standard (PKIX).
  • IBM recently provided a PKIX reference implementation to the IETF Internet Standards body.

Sources:

  • IBM Press Release: "IBM and Intel Joint Effort to Accelerate CDSA Adoption"
  • Intel Press Release: "Intel and IBM to Promote CDSA Standard"
  • The Open Group: "Common Data Security Architecture (CDSA)"